Heat sinks are commonly used to transfer heat from a component, such as an integrated circuit. Integrated circuits typically require thermal management to limit the temperature of the component to ensure component performance and prolong component life. Typically, a heat sink is placed adjacent to the component, such that a surface of the heat sink is in thermal contact with a surface of the component. It is not uncommon to place a thermally conductive interface material in the junction between the surfaces to increase thermal conductivity between the surfaces and to reduce the temperature in the junction (Tj).
Many electronic package designs comprise more than one component mounted onto a single substrate. Typical thermal applications focus on compressive loading of the heat sink to the component generating the most heat. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the heights of the components from the substrate can differ resulting in a non-planar surface across the components. Thus, gaps can exist between the surface of the heat sink and the surface of the shorter components. Heat builds up in these gaps, which can detrimentally affect the components. Also, the close proximity of the components to each other can prevent the use of independent heat sinks for each component.